Drugs Misuse

Drug misuse is when you take illegal drugs, or when you take medicines in a way not recommended by your GP or the manufacturer. Taking medicines in very large quantities that are dangerous to your health is also an example of drug misuse.

Illegal drugs are drugs that have been banned, by law, for use in this country. It is illegal to possess or supply banned drugs.

Some illegal drugs have been categorised as prescription-only, meaning that they may be used legally only if prescribed by a doctor, but are illegal to use, possess, or supply, in any other circumstances. Illegal drugs are categorised into three classes: A, B and C.

Physical dependency

Physical dependency means that your body has become so used to a drug that you get physical withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking it. This means that you have to keep taking the drug to stop yourself feeling ill.

Psychological dependency

Psychological dependency means that you take the drug because it has formed a large part of your life, and you take it to make yourself feel good. You may feel that you cannot stop taking the drug, even though you are not physically dependent. Some drugs can make you both physically and psychologically dependent.

As you take more of a drug, your body becomes tolerant to it so it does not have such a strong effect. This means that you need to take larger amounts to get the same effect as when you started taking it.

Various centres around Solihull can give you help, support and advice.

Class A drugs

Class A drugs are considered to be most dangerous to health. They include: